Actions

Work Header

Rating:
Archive Warning:
Category:
Fandoms:
Relationships:
Characters:
Additional Tags:
Language:
English
Series:
Part 49 of The Extended Railway Series
Stats:
Published:
2023-11-24
Completed:
2023-11-27
Words:
3,165
Chapters:
4/4
Comments:
31
Kudos:
36
Bookmarks:
1
Hits:
766

Emily the Elegant Engine

Summary:

Dear Friends,
Emily is an old engine, and definitely the oldest still running a full mainline timetable in the world. It’s a position she is very proud of, and she has proven herself time and time again to be a very capable engine on light, fast passenger and freight trains. But the work on the mainline is only ever increasing, and poor Emily is finally beginning to show the strain. Fortunately, there are many other jobs on Sodor for our favourite elegant engine.
The Author.

Notes:

Please do not put this story into an AI for any reason or copy it elsewhere without my permission. Thank you.

Chapter 1: Too Heavy for Emily!

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Sodor’s mail services are almost always associated with Percy. The little green engine has become famous around the world for pulling mail vans - but he isn’t the only one. Percy looks after mail along Thomas and Duck’s branchlines, while Edward brought mail from his branchline up to the Big Station and Arthur brought post to Barrow. These trains are supplemented by a single, fast, night express that runs non-stop from Tidmouth all the way to Manchester on the Other Railway called ‘the Night Mail’. It’s been the premier express service of the railway since its inception right the way back in 1915, when it was pulled by Edward. Since then, Gordon, Bear and Bowler have all taken turns pulling the prestigious train - but recently, there’s been less demand. Less mail has been sent by rail year after year, and both the Wellsworth and Norramby branchlines had had their mail trains replaced with vans - and poor Percy only needed one or two mail vans for his run. 

The Fat Controller decided to change how the train ran.
“Emily, I’ve decided to make the Night Mail a lighter train, and I would like for you to pull it.”
“Oh sir, thank you sir,” grinned Emily. She was very excited to pull an express again, and bubbled excitedly about it all day. But when she got to the Harbour to collect her train, she was stunned to see three large TPO vans and four coaches. 

“Isn’t this a little… much?” she asked Salty.
“No,” replied Salty. “This is exactly what they wanted on the train - I even checked!” Emily kept her smile on her face, but secretly she was rather worried. The coaches weren’t light after all. 

The Night Mail met a ship from Ireland at the Big Harbour, and then the mail was loaded into the vans and the guard waved a green lantern. Emily took a deep breath, and dug her large driving wheels into the rails, slowly heaving the heavy train into motion. She slipped for a moment, but found her grip and began to speed up. Soon, she was thundering down the mainline, the coaches swaying and humming peacefully behind her. 

“This is better, this is better!” she chanted. 

Now, the TPO vans are special, because they have a special net to scoop up mail from cranes positioned alongside the line. These are use in towns that are too small to warrant the train stopping. Sodor was the last place in Britain to use the system - and it was very delicate. Emily knew this, and she made sure to keep at a consistent pace when they scooped up the first bag. But then, she reached Gordon’s Hill. 

Emily sped at the gradient, but quickly found she was losing speed. The heavy coaches were holding her back!
“Come on! Come on! Come on!” she panted - but the weight of the train forced her to go slower and slower until she was practically crawling up the hill. 

“Where is Edward when you need him to bank?” groaned Emily. At last, she saw the summit of the hill.

But, just as she crested the hill - she felt the entire weight of the train shift from dragging on her coupling to pressing on her buffers. Emily’s eyes went wide. 

“Oh no… oh no oh no oh no!” she yelped, as her driver slammed on her brakes. But the weight of the train was now too much for Emily! She rocketed down the hill, her brakes screaming as she tried desperately to fight the heavy coaches pushing her on. 

The mail hook suddenly appeared.
“Look out!” cried Emily, as the mail scoop opened. The scoop hit the bag too hard and too fast - the mail bag burst open as it was flung into the coach, sending letters and parcels everywhere! The metal mail hook was bent out of shape too. 

Emily barely got her coaches under control before she reached Killdane. By then, she was exhausted. Poor Emily tried to keep going, but she had to admit defeat, and came to a stop at Barrow. Bowler picked up the train, and Emily crawled to a shed to rest. 

She was rather worried - all the work on the mainline was just getting to be too much for her. 

Notes:

Post Trains are such a vibe - and in the UK at least, they looked epic. And I love the base concept of the TPO - of being able to sort the letters on the fly, the train racing along while workers inside are constantly receiving and dropping off post.

Chapter 2: Emily's New Route

Summary:

After the Night Mail fiasco, the Fat Controller decides to speak with Emily...

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

After the Night Mail fiasco, the Fat Controller assigned the train to Molly, and then went to speak to Emily. The Stirling Single was most apologetic.
“I’m so sorry sir,” she said. “I tried my best but…”
“It was too heavy, wasn’t it?” sighed Sir Stephen. He considered the emerald engine in front of him. “Emily, you did your best with that train, and I must admit it was rather impressive that you still managed to keep to time, even if it did come with some… er… issues. But you and I both know that it’s high time we find you work somewhere that isn’t the mainline.” Emily grimaced - she knew it was true. 

Every year, trains only got heavier on the mainline, so heavy it was almost impossible for Emily to keep up. Her commuter trains had filled to capacity, her light, fast freight had grown so heavy she needed help - and now, she couldn’t even pull the Night Mail. 

“So what now then, sir?” asked Emily. Sir Stephen considered the old engine. She was the second oldest engine he owned - an 1880 Stirling Single who somehow had managed to keep up with mainline trains for over a century after her classmates had begun being withdrawn. She even held the record for the oldest engine in regular, revenue-earning service - something that the emerald engine was extremely proud of. But she needed lighter work. And Sir Stephen knew just what to do. 

The next morning, Emily collected her coaches from where Jinty was shunting the yard and puffed to the platform. 

“I’m going where sir?” asked Emily for the third time.
“You will be taking holiday makers along Neil’s old line to Kirk Ronan,” he said. “A new tour bus company has asked us to bring passengers to it, down by the port - and I think you’ll do splendidly on the run.” Emily was excited! She puffed through lush, green countryside, passing by Arthur on her way to her first stop… at Ballahoo. 

There, she met Daniel. 

“This railway just gets worse and worse,” sneered the diesel railcar. “First, vintage steam engines from last century, and now positively ancient steam kettles from back when dinosaurs roamed the earth!” Emily just stared evenly back, unamused. Daniel was caught off-guard. 

“Uh…”
“A 1957 Class 101 DMU, working for First NorthWestern, when almost all his siblings have been withdrawn and who barely manages to get up to speed, does not have room to taunt,” said Emily, chillingly tranquil. “Sling mud at an engine who cares, or did the landslide teach you sense? I may be an old engine, but I will outlive you and every last one of your siblings, and I will be there to watch as you are melted down .” The guard blew his whistle, and Emily happily puffed away, leaving behind a silent, quivering Daniel. 

One thing that everyone seemed to forget about Emily when they met her was the fact she often pulled trains that connected with the worst of the diesels at Lancaster. 

Emily’s first day went smoothly, and she rolled sleepily into the sheds - where she found Arthur, Bowler and a strangely silent Daniel already preparing to fall asleep. Pug rumbled by with some trucks. 

“How was your day?” asked Bowler.
“It was lovely,” replied Emily. “That line down to Kirk Ronan is absolutely beautiful - though I must admit, I very nearly ran into trouble at Ballahoo.”
“What sort of trouble?” Bowler quizzed, smirking slightly as he looked over to where Daniel seemed to shunt back deeper into the shed.
“Oh nothing much,” hummed Emily. “I managed to sort it very fast. After all, most modern engines might not know that my sisters and I used to reach 85 miles an hour - much faster than some of these modern DMUs .” 

Daniel squeaked, and said nothing for the entire evening. 

Notes:

For those of you who want to say Emily is out of character, I would like to direct you to the fact that Emily is a bit... difficult to pin down a characterisation for, and thus I've been using this style since she was first introduced. I know almost none of you would say such a thing (and I am so thankful to all of you for your support), but I just want to cover my bases. Thank you!

Chapter 3: Bulgy Rides Again

Summary:

The tour bus company that contacted Sir Stephen needs a new bus...

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

The tour bus company that had contacted Sir Stephen about trains to Kirk Ronan was having trouble. They just didn’t have enough buses! The company had even hired Bertie from his preservation society to help bring visitors around the picturesque southern region of the island, but it just wasn’t enough. They needed a new solution - and fast. 

Emily found the owner of the company - a Ms Windham - pacing the platform when she arrived one morning.
“Good morning, ma’am,” Emily said, “is everything alright?”
“It’s not, unfortunately,” Ms Windham huffed dramatically, flipping her hair over her other shoulder. “We need a new bus.” Emily wondered why this new generation was so addicted to drama - and though she didn’t have an answer for that, she did have an answer to Ms Windham’s problem. 

“What about Bulgy?” Emily asked. “That bus on Duck’s branchline.” Ms Windham beamed.
“Of course! And a Railway Series character too - he’d be extremely popular! Thank you, Emily!” And with that, Ms Windham flounced away to make the arrangements. 

“I don’t get her,” Emily sighed.
“You’ve got to be a bit barmy to go into the tourist business,” replied her driver. “It requires a lot of… personality.” Emily wondered if Bulgy had the right personality to be a tour bus. 

*** 

But all was well when Emily met the bright red double-decker bus the next morning. He was on a well-wagon, being hauled by Donald to the works.
“I’m gonna prove to you all how great roads are this time!” cheered Bulgy. “No more chickens for me!”
“Ye a'maist became a vegetable van, sae stow it,” snapped Donald crossly. Bulgy sniffed, but said no more. Emily had a sinking feeling about the tour bus company’s new acquisition. 

Bulgy however, was delighted. He was brought to the works, where he was completely overhauled and repaired. The dents and scrapes in his roof from his accident on Duck’s branchline were finally ironed out, while he got new tyres, a better engine - and even a fresh coat of paint to go with his new upholstery. 

“This is better, look at me now!” he cheered, roaring along the country roads. Bulgy was back in service - and his first tour was to leave from the Little Western and cross the island to meet with Emily at Kirk Ronan. 

With such a long tour planned, it was agreed that Bulgy would spend the night at his old farm, parked just outside the chicken coop. The chickens missed their old home, and while Bulgy was asleep they snuck aboard, one by one. Then, they roosted in his luggage racks, and settled down to sleep. 

Bulgy didn’t notice - and neither did his driver the next morning. Bulgy rumbled away with the farmer’s chickens aboard. He collected his passengers and prepared for the long journey ahead. Amazingly enough, Bulgy rode so smoothly at first, that the chickens didn’t wake up. They were comfortable in their roosts, and didn’t even notice as Bulgy made his way across the island, the tour guide telling people all about the sights of Sodor. They stopped near Edward’s station for lunch, and everything was going well… right up until they were heading for Kirk Ronan. Ahead of Bulgy was Trevor the traction engine, puttering along at a slow and steady pace. 

“Move it!” shouted Bulgy. “Hurry up!” Trevor groaned.
“Don’t be impatient!” he called back. Bulgy ignored the traction engine. His driver sped up, swerving around Trevor - only to see another car coming in the other direction. Bulgy skidded and swerved, barely missing the car and careening out of control! The chickens woke up, and they panicked! Ruffled feathers, scrambled eggs and panicked chickens all flew about inside the bus.

Bulgy barely managed to stop by the lineside, just as all his passengers and the chickens dashed out.
“We won’t ride another minute!” yowled the passengers. “We want our money back!” Bulgy winced. 

*** 

“I can’t have buses endangering my clients’ lives and carrying chickens about,” snapped Ms Windham. Emily watched, feeling rather for Bulgy. It wasn’t really his fault the chickens had hitched a ride. 

“I’ve bought some new buses from the Mainland, so now I have to figure out what to do with you.” Bulgy looked down at his bumper bar. Emily thought for moment, when Donald’s words came back to her. 

“Didn’t Donald say the greengrocer needed a vegetable van?” she asked. “What if you worked for him?” Both Ms Windham and Bulgy thought for a moment, then they grinned. 

And it wasn’t long before Bulgy returned from the works, changed once again. 

“Cor! Look at that!” smirked Pug. “It’s a vegetable stand on wheels!” It was. Bulgy had had a special window fitted, and now he was able to drive about the island, selling fresh produce wherever he went. He’s really useful too - as he has that second deck for extra storage. Bulgy loves his new lease on life, and he’s even becoming friendly towards Emily, the elegant engine who helped him. 

But his favourite thing of all is that the fruit and vegetables don’t complain like passengers do!

Notes:

Now, I am not a fan of Bulgy in the same way others are. But 40 years in a field was long enough - and now he's vegetable bus. And that's the best ending for him. I really do enjoy this episode from Season 7 - and it was fun to finally adapt it!

Chapter 4: Sea Monster

Summary:

Emily's train were not full...

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Emily’s trains were not full.
“Well…” Ms Windham sighed, when Emily asked, “most of our clients prefer to be dropped off at Crovan’s Gate - to see the narrow gauge engines. There just isn’t that much demand to end the tours here…” Emily sighed. The locals weren’t too keen on the railway either - and that left her pulling bare-bones trains every day. 

“I think,” Sir Stephen said grimly, “we will need to find you other work.” 

Emily wanted to ask the other engines for ideas - but before she could, Jinty bustled in excitedly.
“Guess what I just heard!”
“What?” asked Pug.
“There’s a sea monster at Norramby! A real, live, sea monster!”
“Impossible,” snorted Bowler from his berth. “Sea monsters aren’t real.”
“We said that about the ghosts,” murmured Emily quietly. The others stared at her in shock for a moment, then went back to discussing the sea monster. 

“It’s probably some teenagers,” sighed Arthur, though Jinty and Pug loudly disagreed.
“It has to be something cool!” exclaimed Pug. “Otherwise, the Fat Controller wouldn’t have been asked by First-Northwestern to supply additional passenger trains!”
“He’s done what?” asked Emily. 

“I’ve been asked by First-Northwestern to help them transport passenger to Norramby,” the Fat Controller replied from beside the shed. Everyone jumped!
“Sir?”
“Emily, I want you to pull these trains,” Sir Stephen said. “You will also handle our daily token service to Kirk Ronan, but those will not be as important.”
“Oh sir, thank you sir!” grinned Emily. “I’ll do my best!”
“I know you will,” smiled Sir Stephen. 

The next day, Emily set off to Norramby with a packed train of tourists - especially those looking to see if there really was a sea monster. Arthur scoffed at the idea.
“It’s ridiculous,” he huffed. “There’s no such thing as sea monsters. If anything, it’ll be some teenagers, or Sir Robert doing a publicity stunt, or maybe an octopus. But a sea monster? ” 

Jinty and Pug disagreed.
“It has to be something,” they insisted. “Otherwise, why would people keep saying they heard it?” And the pair had a point. When Emily puffed along the coastal run, she could hear the distorted wails of something unusual. 

“It’s rather frightening to listen to,” she admitted in the sheds. “Like something is… hurting.”
“What, you think the sea monster got dumped?” snorted one of the cleaners. Jinty sniggered.
“They are animals - I suppose they could get dumped.” Emily wasn’t so sure. 

So the next day, she asked her crew if she could run up to where the noise was coming from in between her trains. Her crew obliged, and Emily puffed quietly up the little coastal run, coming to a stop just off the points in front of the pier where Thomas had taken his dive. She waited patiently, until she heard it. It’s low groan bounced off the high cliffs behind her, making it sound loud and horrid - but it also made it easier for Emily to hear where the sound was coming from. 

“Has anyone checked the old wreckage of the trucks?” she asked, looking to the end of the pier.
“You know that it’s unsafe for anyone to head up there,” said her driver. “After Thomas’ accident, they found that the entire pier was ready to collapse - held together by wood rot, so I’ve heard.”
“Could you… please check,” Emily asked. “It… doesn’t sound like a sea monster but… perhaps an animal in distress?” 

Her driver stepped down, shaking his head. He walked along the pier carefully, and then let out an exclamation of surprise. He sprinted back to Emily, looked stunned. 

“You’re right! There’s a seal trapped in the wreckage!” Emily’s face hardened with determination.
“We must go and get help,” she declared. Her driver swung aboard and threw open the regulator. Emily responded with a will, and sprinted along the line, her giant wheel turning into a blur. She thundered by a stunned Daniel. 

“She really can go that fast…” he gasped to himself. 

Emily sped all the way to Norramby, where she alerted the stationmaster. The stationmaster called the coastguard, and soon the seal was rescued from the wreckage at the end of the pier. 

“So it wasn’t a sea monster after all,” hummed Arthur with a smirk, watching as Jinty and Pug huffed and snorted out feeble grumbles. “Sometimes, the most obvious answer is the right one.”
“Then why didn’t you check, huh?” quizzed Pug. Arthur went red, and looked away.
“I was spooked by the wails,” he mumbled, looking down at his buffers. 

Emily rolled her eyes.
“It’s good that the seal was rescued, first and foremost,” she said sharply. “The sea monster is not as important.” All three steam engines winced, while Bowler just sighed.
“Emily is right. We should be thankful that the seal was able to get help.”
“Indeed!” grinned the Fat Controller, striding up from his car. “And for you incredible work today, I believe you deserve a reward.”
“What is it?” asked Emily excitedly.
“Wait and see,” grinned the Fat Controller. 

And three weeks later, Emily awoke to Arthur shunting five brand new, shiny, clerestory coaches into the siding beside her, painted in a glorious cream and emerald livery that complemented her paint.
“They’re wonderful!” gasped Emily.
“And specially lightened too,” grinned the Fat Controller, stepping out of one of the coaches. “They’re for you Emily, now that you’re staying on the Norramby line.” 

“She’s what ?” spluttered Daniel incredulously.
“Well… First-Northwestern has decided to rent Emily to help out on the line due to high traffic,” Sir Stephen said with a chuckle. “So, you two will be working together!” 

Daniel made the mistake of looking over to Emily, who grinned back. 

“Are you ready, Daniel?” the emerald engine asked. 

Daniel didn’t think he was.

Notes:

Tune in December 1 for the big 50th ERS special! It's gonna be something special - and also something I dread slightly due to its... scale.

Hope you're all ready - cause I'm not XD

Series this work belongs to: